Focal passage: Hebrews 5:11-6:12
These verses stir many questions about what it means to “fall away” (Heb. 6:6), and offers few answers to those questions.
The writer, however, does not want us to focus on concerns about falling away, but on confidence of attaining salvation (Heb. 6:9). Our confidence comes from a growing and maturing faith. Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas/Fort Worth, uses a table as a powerful visual to illustrate different levels of spiritual maturity.
One seat at the table is for the spiritually mature. These are the folks who understand that they are children of God who have been invited by His grace. You can identify the mature because they are the ones who know when it is time to push away from the table and serve. The writer of Hebrews says the mature, “by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). They are known by the “work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people” (Heb. 6:10).
You will also have spiritual toddlers who are learning the elementary truths of spiritual things. Toddlers are messy as they learn to handle things that are new to them. They ask a lot of challenging questions that do not always have simple answers. The key to recognizing healthy children, both physically and spiritually, is that they are growing and learning.
Spiritual toddlers are acting and talking more like Christ every day.
The illustration of the table is not complete without a high chair. Although infants are cute and adorable, there is nothing cute about a 50-year old infant. Picture a 250-pound man sitting in the high chair. Ed Young calls it the “I” chair. His cries are constantly, “I want my way,” “That’s my seat,” “I don’t like her.” His legs do not touch the floor because he has no intentions of going anywhere. His arms are always reaching out, but they are seeking what others can give, not what he can offer. These spiritual infants require lots of attention from the spiritually mature, often draining them of time and energy that should be invested in others. It is often the behavior of the spiritual infants that turns seekers away from church and away from Christ. Only God really knows the heart of these people who bear no spiritual fruit.
Those who sit in the chair of the spiritually mature can be “confident of better things.” Their hope is made sure as Christ lives and loves through them.